News

Top experts on infectious diseases speak at University symposium

(25 April 2005)

A major symposium to reinforce the partnership between Durham University and the NHS in tackling some of the world’s most infectious diseases takes place at Queen’s Campus, Stockton, this week (Wednesday 27 April.

Durham University is hosting the symposium at the Ebsworth Building, Queen's Campus, Stockton on 27 April (1.30 p.m-5.00 p.m.) when some of the country’s leading experts on infectious diseases will be addressing an invited audience of health professionals, academics and research students.

Major issues of public health arising from the impact of some of the most serious infectious diseases, including Variant CJD, malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and MRSA and explanations of the latest research work will be the subject of a series of sessions at the symposium.

These include the controversial issues about the safety of the MMR vaccine which will be considered by Professor Andrew Hall of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Professor Mike Bramble of the James Cook Hospital, Teesside and the University of Durham, will explore aspects of the latest thinking on Variant CJD and he will be considering the scale of the threat.

On of the leading experts on tropical medicine and diseases is Professor Eldryd Parry of the Tropical Health and Education Trust. He will be looking at international health and infectious diseases based on his experience and research in various parts of the world.

Professor Steve Lindsay of the University of Durham is disease ecologist who is leading research into the control of malaria. He has conducted extensive field research in Africa and Asia and is regarded as leading authority in the field of vector-borne diseases.

The plenary speaker at the symposium is Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Vice Chancellor of the University of Durham, who was formerly Chief Medical Officer for Scotland and then Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health in London. He will be considering a new way forward to assessing public health risk, particularly concerning public perception of risk and the way health risks are communicated

The Vice Chancellor said : “This symposium is a great example of the University’s of close collaboration with our colleagues in the NHS. There is a planned and coherent link between our research work and the work of the NHS in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries. The work of our various research groups shows how this has a direct bearing on the day-to-day work of tackling health problems and nowhere is this more significant than in considering the issues of risk in the field of infectious diseases.”

“A great deal of exciting world-class research on infectious diseases is happening at Durham and we have some really excellent people working on a significant range of research in areas of health and medicine which do make a real difference.”

Professor Pali Hungin, Dean of Medicine and Head of the School for Health at Durham University, said :”This gathering of leading experts on infectious diseases is of immense significance in advancement of the understanding of some of the most virulent diseases which affect millions of people around the world. Our research into the control of infectious diseases is at the leading edge and this work is underpinned by our close and effective collaboration with our colleagues in the NHS and other research centres. Together we are tackling some of the biggest threats to public health in the world today.”

Sir Kenneth Calman added : “This symposium brings together some of the world’s leading experts in the study of infectious diseases and it places further emphasis on the importance of recently launched Health Strategy Board based here at Durham University.

ends

MEDIA INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY:
The principal speakers at the Symposium on Infectious Diseases will be available for interviews/photos between 12.30 p.m.-1.30 p.m. on WEDNESDAY 27th APRIL in the foyer of the Ebsworth Building, Queen’s Campus, Stockton.

For further information contact:
Professor Pali Hungin, Dean of Medicine and Head of the School for Health, University of Durham. Tel. 0191 334 0375

Media enquiries to: Tom Fennelly, Public Relations, University of Durham, Tel. 0191 334 6078, e-mail: t.p.fennelly@durham.ac.uk

Notes to editors

Professor Sir Kenneth Calman is Vice-Chancellor and Warden of the University of Durham. He graduated in medicine in 1967. During his later undergraduate career he became interested in dermatology and graduated PhD in 1970. Following his house jobs he moved into the Department of Surgery in Glasgow and proceeded to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons and an MD Thesis with Honours on Organ Preservation. His clinical interests were then in General Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Transplantation. In 1972, he was the MRC Clinical Research Fellow at the Chester Beatty Research Institute, London and returned to Glasgow in 1974 as Professor of Oncology. In 1984 he became Dean of Postgraduate Medicine and Professor of Postgraduate Medical Education, University of Glasgow and Consultant Physician with an interest in palliative care at Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow. In 1989 he was appointed Chief Medical Officer for Scotland and in 1991 he became Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health in London. He is Chair of a Working Group on behalf of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on Clinical Research in Developing Countries. He is a member of the Board of Macmillan Cancer Relief, is involved in a number of organisations in the North East, and is a Deputy Lieutenant in the County of Durham. He has written prolifically. His current academic interests are in risk, storytelling, ethics and education.

Professor Steve Lindsay is a disease ecologist with a passion for studying some of the world’s most important vector-borne diseases; chiefly malaria, lymphatic filariasis and trachoma. He has considerable experience in medical entomology, parasitology, ecology and clinical epidemiology and solves pure and applied problems in the laboratory and field using a wide range of techniques from DNA finger-printing and mathematical modelling, to methods used by social scientists, epidemiologists and biologists. His particular interest is in the design of simple tools for malaria control and he has carried out field research in The Gambia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand and Uganda over the last 17 years. He has published nearly 90 peer-reviewed papers, many in major international journals. He was in one of the leading group of researchers to demonstrate that insecticide-treated bednets protected children against malaria.

Professor Eldryd Parry was educated at Emmanuel College Cambridge and the Welsh National School of Medicine, prior to holding a number of professional and academic posts in the UK, Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia. He holds many honours and prizes including an MBE for services to medical education in West Africa awarded in 1982. He is chairman of the Tropical Health and Education Trust which works with those responsible for health care training in training schools and hospitals in African countries. The Trust develops projects with the overseas establishments, chiefly by arranging links between counterparts in the UK and abroad so that a wide range of staff are trained. Professor Parry has had a rich experience of medicine in the tropics. Regular visits to teaching hospitals and health centres have kept him in touch with clinical and social needs and problems, and thus with the necessity of keeping training for health care related to needs. He has had many years of experience of clinical research and has built up research work by colleagues in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana. This research has led to many papers on the medicine of the tropics and its infectious and cardiovascular diseases.

Professor Andrew Hall qualified in medicine at Guy's Hospital and trained in epidemiology at the MRC unit in Southampton and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has worked in Papua New Guinea and The Gambia in public health and infectious disease research. He is currently Professor of Epidemiology at the LSHTM and honorary consultant epidemiologist to North Central London Strategic Health Authority. His research interests are in aflatoxin, vaccines, vaccine preventable diseases, autoimmune disorders and epilepsy.

Professor Mike Bramble is a consultant gastroenterologist at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough and is Honorary Professor in Gastroenterology at the Centre for Integrated Health Care based at the Wolfson Research Institute at Durham University’s Queen’s Campus, Stockton. He is also a national lead in advising on infections which might be spread through medical instruments.

Professor Pali Hungin OBE Dean of Medicine and Head of the School for Health at Durham University, is Fellow of Royal Society of Arts and Chair of the NHS R&D Forum, England, and a Royal College of General Practitioners representative on the National Institute of Clinical Excellence Primary Care Coordination Group.

The new Health Strategy Board for education and research brings together the leading academics and research groups in a unique collaboration with the top practitioners and decision makers in the NHS as well as key players from regional bodies, local government and national research bodies. The Health Strategy Board’s overall aim is to make a real difference to the health and well-being of people living in the North East of England by demonstrating an active and meaningful engagement with the NHS through the work of the University’s research groups. The new initiative is regarded as one of the most significant developments for many years in the field of medicine and health. It will seek to make a significant contribution to the quality of life and effectiveness of health care by co-ordinating teaching, research and links with the NHS and partners by promoting a new understanding of the real value and impact of collaborative working.

The Wolfson Research Institute is based in a purpose-built building on the University’s Queen’s Campus, at Stockton-on–Tees and began operation in November 2001. The building is home to around 90 staff and 20 research students, with around 30 staff in other parts of the University involved in the work of the Institute. The work of the Institute focuses on research on health, medicine and the environment, and the links between them, and upon regional and urban regeneration. As well as helping meet the University’s strategic goal of producing top quality cutting edge research, the Wolfson Research Institute strengthens links with the surrounding region and has a key role in meeting its strategic goal of enhanced regional engagement, via contributing to policy formation and implementation. The £10 million Wolfson Research Institute provides first-class research facilities bringing substantial benefits both to the university and the region. Each of the units and centres has a nationally or internationally recognised leader and several research groups have undergone rapid expansion and new research tools and techniques have been introduced.